


The Memories Gone By

by Aly (alyrawrus)



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-04-21 01:04:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14273580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alyrawrus/pseuds/Aly
Summary: During the threshold of the first World War, Marius Pontmercy was abandoned by his own family. He is then visited by Eponine Thenardier to give him a chance to reminisce from his most joyful to his most miserable moments of the house. As the soldiers marched, Marius' soul flew closer and closer to heaven gracefully.





	The Memories Gone By

_"'Ponine?"_

The old man sat on his favourite chair— a centennial-old armchair, which was full of memories. The war has already commenced all over Europe and is spreading slowly around the world... yet he did not run away... he did not hide.

His family abandoned him for their own lives but he understood why. He would always say to himself,  _"Of course... Of course... children love to escape to their little world of imagination, am I right Cosette?_ " He'd look to his left expecting an old lady by the door for a reply, but all he received was silence.

_"It is a little bit selfish for everyone to leave me, but why bother taking care of a man already dying? I am dead inside anyway. I am the last one in the house and am the only one left."_

Marius Pontmercy glimpsed at the paintings and pictures around the room. What a time to live. As the years went by, he realised how foolish he and his friends were to waste their lives in such a fight that could never be won. A solution that could never be made into reality.

 _"It's lovely to see you again, M'sieur..."_ startled by those words, Marius turned around and saw a familiar face.

 _"Oh! It's lovely to see you again too, Mademoiselle!"_  as he said the last word, his heart beat twice because it reminded him of how young she died.

The young woman smiled and held out her hand. Should he dare to touch it? He stared at the hand for a while, it was not an ordinary skin colour... it looked brighter.

" _Do not be afraid, mon ami! I won't hurt you! But,"_  she made a small smile and put her hand back in her pocket,  _"you may walk around, take a last look. I will be here, so... don't you fret, M'sieur Marius."_

* * *

 

He started walking around his house from the first floor.

The kitchen was where all the little accidents would happen. He recalled the time when his daughter, Laurette, would mess with the ingredients from the cabinet and would also pretend she was like her mother. Laurette would take the dolls and made them sit in a corner, teaching them how to cook while Cosette and Marius would be smiling or laughing as they were peeking in the door.

The dining room, where Marius' father would let Marius' children do crazy things to him. The children would run around the dining room while Cosette and their helpers placed the food on the table for a feast to come.

Marius smiled to himself as he remembers the days he'd let a dozen of strangers into his home and ate with the family. Even if there will be no more revolution, he'd still make the effort to try to help other people.

The library, where he would sit on the couch with his children before bed and read whatever his children wanted. He missed his children so much, he sometimes would feel melancholy for the fact that he outlived them or he couldn't take care of them. These are the few kinds of people a man could never let go.

The living room, where his wife, Cosette would stare out the stars from the window. She was fascinated by them because she never really saw them often when they still lived in their old house. He'd watch her smile and surprise her when he'd wrap his arms around her.

The lonely Pontmercy walked slowly to the stairs. They shared a lot of mishaps on these small steps: Laurette would get irritated because she always said she knew how to go down the stairs, but eventually trip and land on her bum and Julia when Julia would walk down the stairs, she'd trip cause she swore she saw an elegant young man by the door. The children would regularly trip, so it was nothing to the family.

He walked up the stairs and as he puts his foot on top of one, he was reminded of how he thought to have failed his own family. Shame and guilt slowly crept up to his mind. He loved his family because it was a kind of love that no greedy man would ever have.

* * *

 

From the end of the stairs, the first room you would pass by was the girl's room. But as the years passed, it belonged Marius' grandchildren when they decided to stay here. Laurette and Julia were girls, so they were put together in one room. At least they got along when they were young.

He went inside and kneeled down. He would think, it was his fault for the death of Julia because they were too comfortable with their strolls that they have completely forgotten about their possible dangers. Had they known earlier that there was a stalker on the loose, he would've had Julia's stalker dead right away. Ever since her death til Laurette's college years, there was only one bed in the room.

Next to the girl's room was the room of the oldest child in the family. Corbett was thought to be the healthiest person of the family. That is until he suddenly had an infection called Diphtheria. He did not last for too long. Since then, the room was never used again and all belongings inside were simply covered by white blankets.

Marius looked around and it still smelled like Corbett. He thought he didn't care too much for the eldest, but he did not realise that out of all the siblings, he took care of Corbett the most. But pain told him the opposite.

Corbett's room was connected to his grandfather's room. But there was no way out of the grandfather's room without passing by Corbett. Grandfather Georges rarely spent his time in his own room because he always spent it with Corbett. The bond between the two was unbeatable. When Corbett died, his grandfather died a week after.

Marius didn't want to go to the next room because he knew he couldn't go back. As he stopped by every room, the hallways would become darker. But he had no choice; His spirit was only given a chance to wander around for the last time.

The room— which he refused to go— was Marius and Cosette's. They'd always discuss tomorrow before sleeping, or pour their feelings out. But when they were younger, they would always hug each other and give a few kisses before one falls asleep. Marius would talk about his father-in-law, Jean Valjean rarely because he knew it would only make Cosette's heartbreak. When it wasn't Cosette who wept, it was Marius. After generations, he'd still have nightmares about barricades. They'd sometimes make jokes to each other before they would sleep, and you could hear happiness all night. Like all the others, Marius outlived Cosette. But despite all of these, they almost grew up together, they loved together.

* * *

 

He walked outside of the room and stared into the darkness for a few moments. He was not ready to face this. Once he went inside the room, it was final; His spirit has departed. He knew he had to go because he heard marches outside the house. He heard the soldiers getting ready to strike. Marius had to go, or else he could be stuck here... forever. In a world where nobody will see you, nobody will know you, nobody will remember you.

He went to the very last room. This was an extra room, just in case, another baby would be added to the family. But when Cosette was too old, they made it into a "memory" room. They filled the walls with the most unforgettable moments of their lives. When they did this, they added a lamp on almost each corner of the room and put a couch on the centre. But ever since the deaths of the children, Cosette, and Marius' father, Marius' favourite chair was placed in the centre instead.

Since the death of Cosette, the only family members he (once) had were the children of Laurette. The house was close to a school, so he invited his grandchildren to his home. The two were not as close as Marius' children but the grandchildren would still make the effort to say good morning, good afternoon, or whichever time of the day it was, told their excuse when leaving, and went back to their own world. When they abandoned him, they wrote a letter for him. It was half-hearted, but what can you do?

* * *

 

 _"So, are you ready?"_  Eponine asked as she ruffled his thin hair,  _"I miss the way you grow your hair"_

 _"I miss the way you always tease,"_  Marius sighed and looked at her eyes,  _"little I knew, little I saw."_

She grabbed his hand and danced around the room as their favourite piece was playing, it had been so long since they both had heard this.

He remembered the time when they first heard this, Marius sneaked Eponine inside the theatre so they could watch together. The times were simpler and quite peaceful.

As they passed by every picture, Marius got younger and younger and the room slowly becomes a place with white walls and white floors surrounded by clouds. The only place left was the chair that Marius could not let go. They danced through the whole song. All of a sudden, Marius forgot all of his troubles. When it was finished, Marius felt young again and for the first time in forty years, he felt joy. Marius turned to his right and saw all of his friends waiting for him. He looked back at Eponine, who insisted him to go ahead and meet his old friends.

He ran to them, crying tears of joy with a big smile on his face that was never present during his time on Earth.

* * *

 

**FIN**


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